01 January 2012

Sermon:The Circumcision & Name of Jesus (Gospel)

Summary: We live at a time where “name it and claim it” theology runs wild. Too many Christians are told that if they believe enough, pray enough, or do enough, God will give them whatever they desire. This is no new error but a mere repackaging of the first sin of Adam and Eve, wherein we are tempted to place ourselves above God and claim that we know what we need better than He does.

Contrast this to Jesus, who humbly submitted to the will of His Father. Instead of claiming the glory due Him, He humbled Himself and was born a human child. Instead of claiming all Creation as His birthright, He allowed His Father to stake and maintain a claim on Him.

The angel told Mary and Joseph to name Him Jesus, since He would “save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21)” On His eighth day of life, that’s exactly what they did. At the same time, the Father established earthly claim on His Son through His circumcision. Thus did God name and claim Him.

Through Baptism, by virtue of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are now “sons of God, through faith. (Galatians 3:26)” God named and claimed us and maintains that claim as He continues placing His name on us through Word and Sacrament.

Text:And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.Luke 2:21

Note: Listeners from Sunday morning will detect a few differences between this recording and what they heard in church. This is due to a software error which necessitated my rerecording the sermon.